Welcome 2009!

There is no better way to welcome a new year than with sledding. On January 1, 2009 we went sledding. Since baby Lola was too little to take out Aunt Pakou stayed home with her but Uncle Nate joined us for the afternoon fun at Como park. Good times.

Ayden's preferred method of going up the hill. Taylor and Uncle Nate after a run.Uncle Nate and Taylor going down a run.

The girls coming down the hill by themselves.

Aunt Pakou is a Wii expert. Pics of playing Wii on New Year's Eve. Santa brought Ayden and Taylor a Wii for their good behavior in 2008. Thank goodness for Santa because if it was up to their parents the girls would only get books ;-)

Summing up 2008

2008 came to an awesome conclusion for the Her family. God is amazing in how he works and the plans he has for each and everyone of us. It is incredible what we see and hear when we listen as he is always speaking to us.

Without having to go into great details, December was a very good month for us. We have been able to take steps in mending old relationships. We have a new perspective on how we view others. Last but not least we have new perspective on how we view ourselves. We will be starting the new year with fresh eyes: Less judgement, more optimism and greater open-mindedness.

To close out 2008 we spent time with both the Vang and Her families. Here are some pictures from the time we shared with our loved ones.

Ka-el at the Children's Museum. He loved the water play area.

Hanging out on the log in the "ant" room.

Gabe sitting on turtle Ayden.

Tais Nee, Taylor and Ayden baking a cake on Christmas Eve and putting the Betty Crocker cake decorating set to good use. We had Cub Foods make their famous whip cream frosting special for us. The cake was too beautiful to eat so Santa left it in tact and opted to eat the Vietnamese sandwich and candy instead.

Kong's 36th birthday. Pakou, Nate and Baby Lola came into town for this special occasion.

Ayden's Love

Our family went shopping the other day and Ayden did the cutest thing. We were at Marshalls trying on shoes for Taylor. Ayden had wondered off and found this pair of shiny red dress shoes. I heard Ayden say, "Mommy, I found shoes my size. It's a 7." She proceeded to put on the shoes and admire them in the full length mirror. I heard a number of customers comment to her how nice the shoe looked (to which I did hear her respond with thank yous). The look on her face and how she was modeling was priceless.

When Taylor and I finished, I asked Ayden to put the shoes away. She asked if I could buy the shoes for her. Since she did not need another pair of shoes (especially red ruby shoes), I told her we would not be buying them. She reluctantly took the shoes off, gently set them back on the self and stood by them to admire them one last time. As we left the shoe department I turned over to see Ayden leaning into the shoe (she was close enough to kiss them) and I heard her whisper in the sweetest voice, "I love you". I just about busted out laughing.

I don't think I've ever heard her say those three words to anyone and mean them as genuinely as she did when she spoke them to the shoes. It was cute and disturbing at the same time. We ended up going back to Marshalls a week later to return something and Ayden made a b-line right back to her beloved shoes. I did end up buying them for her. After all, it was on sale for only $10.00. I hope I'm not enabling a bad behavior.

To think that my child is 5 and she knows to love material things. For anyone who knows Ayden, she especially loves dresses (long and big), shoes (the shinier the better) and jewelry (the sparklier the better). I know we didn't teach this to her. I guess some people are just born knowing they want the finer things in life.

It's Been A While

It's been tough making time to update. With my MBA in full swing it's hard to find even just one spare moment. With each semester class condensed into 4 & 5 week sessions, each week is filled with numerous chapters of reading, papers and quizes. I've been staying up till 1:30am almost every night and getting up early to study on the weekends even though I'm going to bed so late. I've been walking around with a headache caused by sleep deprivation. Anyway, so much as happened in the last month. Here are some fun pictures. I'm trying not to let school get in the way of my time with the girls.

12/12/08 - Taylor had her first concert. She loves playing the flute. She can spend hours playing Hot Cross Bun. She did an awesome job. Visit Taylor's blog to hear more about it and to see pictures (see link to the right or type in taylorsuabyi.blogspot.com). Ayden's been very silly lately. This is what she resorted to when she became bored with Taylor's concert. The video is 2 mintues long. The first minute is just the band. Right around the 1 mintue mark is when Ayden appears. You can move the video clip to the 1 minute mark to skip the band.


12/11/08 - I gave my first public speach to a group of 40 women on the topic of Hmong women in the corporate sector. Though the women were there to hear me speak, their feedback, enthusiasm and kind words moved me. I felt so blessed to be among such amazing Hmong women. I had a number of people come up to me after my presentation to comment on how I inspired them. Amazing how when you speak the truth and from your heart how that changes other people. In addition I've been asked by two different research projects to be interviewed. I feel like I'm just not worthy of such wonderful attention and respect.

12/6/08 - We put up our Christmas decorations. It was a wonderful time. Now that the girls are bigger, I love their excitement. We played Christmas music and the girls baked brownies all by themselves. This was hard for me to do as I'm quite the control freak. What a way to spend a crisp winter Saturday. Here is a picture of the girls helping out and a clip of Ayden being silly. They are trying to get snowflakes up on the dinning room windows.

12/5/08 - JJ Hill Hmong New Year. I was the Committee Chair of the JJ Hill Hmong New Year event and Kong was the MC. The event was very successful. I tried a new approach this year. Instead of just inlisting the help of teachers, I tried to incorporate the Hmong families at JJ Hill in the planning phase. Needless to say, the more people you involve, the more stressful the event becomes. Either that or the more people you involve, the more control you lose hence teh stress. All in all the event was great fun. We are truly bless to be a part of such a wonderful and supportive school community. We even made $1,000 which will go towards funding next year's event. Here is a picture of Kong and the girls. It was a family effort this year. Kong was part of the planning throughout the entire process. I could not possibly do it without his support. Taylor and her classmates learned how to Hmong jump rope and helped demonstrate that activity. Ayden dressed up but was too shy to participate in the fashion show : ( 12/4/08 - Pictures from Thursday night activites. Taylor at dance and Ayden at gymnastics. Judging from Taylor's dance clip, I'm not sure how these girls will be able to put a routine together for the final show in the spring. I had a good laugh watching. I guess it's not how good you are at what you are attempting but how much you enjoy it. Is that are real saying? I think I might have made it up to justify the money I put into it : )

11/22/08: We went hunting at the Schmidt farm in Bonduel, WI. We had a great time. The girls went pigeon hunting with Kong in the barn, they got to drive the green machine (pictured below) and drive for deer in the woods. They even got to shoot the pellet gun at soda cans. Uncle Phil was wonderful with the girls and even took them with him to register deer. Afterwards he took them to the Ponderosa (Grandma Schmidt's main farm) to pet the cows. The best part...buying candy at the gas station. Go figure! The girls had a great time and want to do it again next year. And the answer is yes...everyone has to wear blaze orange. That is, everyone who does not want to be mistaken for deer!10/30/08: It was really warm this past Halloween. Here is a picture of the girls after we carved pumpkins and a picture of them in their Halloween costumes. Ayden was Wonder Woman and Taylor was a goth fairy.

The Moon, Venus & Jupiter

(This photo is how we actually saw the moon, Venus and Jupiter - except the planets were even closer yet to the moon)

As Taylor, Ayden and I walked out of school at 5:50pm to attend Kuk Sool Won on December 1, 2008 we noticed two very, very bright stars in the sky. We had a discussion around if the two bright stars were Tristan and Yvaine from Stardust (best movie ever). As we were talking, out of the blue, a woman from about a blocks distance yelled over to us, "That's Jupiter and Venus by the moon!" She told us that this only happens every 27 years. It was an amazing and beautiful sight. The planets were brighter than any star we had ever seen. There was nothing in the sky or words that could compare or describe just how magnificent this sight was.

The girls and I planned on taking a photo after class but when we got home the planets had shifted. It was wonderful that we got to share this moment together. I guess it's not every 27 year this event occurs. It's actually much longer. We'll see Venus and Jupiter again but not the way they were displayed tonight until November 18, 2052. The girls and I wrote a letter about our experience and sealed it in an envelope so that we can read about this moment when it occurs again in 44 year. I'll be 79 then, Taylor 53 and Ayden 49. I feel teary eyed already : (

How the Hers Spent Historic Noverber 4, 2008

We are so proud to say that we were part of this awesome day! Kong and I both took the day off to make the most of and contribute to this historic milestone. After taking the girls to school we got in line to excercise our civic duty and voted. At our voting station we learned that the power was out and our ballots would be scanned at the end of the day. We were very concerned that our vote would not count. We thought this might be the work of the GOP. It turns out there was a big accident down the block that caused the power outage. Hmmmmm??????

After we voted we drove over to Obama's campaign office in Frog town to volunteer. We didn't know if they needed us but we were so moved that we had to do something. The office was over flowing with people who showed up to do a last minute, get out the vote campaigning. We were given an assignment on the East side of St. Paul and coincidentally it was our old neighborhood. We talked to people we hadn't seen in years and had a really great time door knocking. I talked to a few young Hmong men who were still undecided. We discussed why I was supporting Obama. We talked health plan, taxes, education and the environment which are the issues that are important to me. The best part about this experience was that Kong and I did it together.

We canvassed for a few hours then headed over to the Kids Vote office. Our task was to set up stations for kids to vote at polling sites. We spent the rest of the afternoon manning the Boys and Girls Club site on the East side of St. Paul. After school we picked up the girls to help us collect ballot boxes. This gave them the chance to vote. Here are pictures of them casting their votes.

To wrap up the evening we enjoyed snacks at the Kids Vote polling headquarter's celebration party. We headed home around 8:30pm.



We let the girls stay up and watch the election unfold on CNN and MSNBC. Taylor was glued to the TV and each time McCain's Electoral vote count increased she stressed. She just couldn't believe that anyone would vote McCain/Palin. We explained to her the beauty of a democracy even though quietly we were thinking the same thing. Taylor fought hard to stay awake. She was able to watch McCain's concession speech which was gracious and heart felt but fell asleep just 10 minutes before Obama's : (



My only regret of the day was that the girls didn't get to go vote with us and canvass. I know they would have enjoyed it and it would have been a wonderful learning experience.

No posting would be complete without a video. Taylor was at a birthday party last Saturday so with nothing to do Ayden played in a big pile of leaves Kong and I raked together. Here are some pictures and video from that afternoon.

President Elect Barack Obama!

Okay, I'll just complain for one moment then I'll updated the blog with some nice pictures and recount what our family did the day Barack Obama was elected President of the United States of America.

Sad to say that some do not share the same sentiment when it comes to this historic event. I went to Fox News just to see what they were saying about the Obama victory. I read some blogs and comments for articles and I'm so disappointed to see so many people missed the importance of this election. How divided we still are.

First and foremost, Obama is the first African American President. This is of great importance considering our country's history. We are a nation that was built on the blood and sweat of slaves. It was only a few short decades ago that blacks were not allowed to vote let alone eat and drink in the same places as whites and that blacks counted as only a fraction of a human being. This victory is monumental. This is not to say that we have accomplished all we need to on the front of race but it speaks volume. Let us also not forget that this is not just monumental for African Americans but for all minorities.

I think just as important, Obama was elected by the people, ALL people. I've been seeing many people write and say that Obama was only elected because blacks voted for him just because he is black but that could not be further from the truth. Obama being black was significant symbolically for African Americans but he won because of the content of his character. White, Black, Asian, Latino, old, young, poor and rich all voted for him. We are all ready to be lead by someone who knows he does not know all of the answers but believes in the power of the American people and what we can accomplish when we work together. We are ready to be lead by someone who inspires unity instead of divide with fear and ignorance.

Barack's charter transcends his color. If you are one of those people who saw this as blacks voting for blacks then you should question yourself . Your unwillingness to see a person for what they offer and not what you see. Think about when you voted in the past for a white man. Did anyone accuse you of only voting for that person because he was white? Think of the double standard when whites support whites vs. blacks support blacks.

I've read postings stating that now we have a black president we need to get rid of all affirmative action. I say to those people, 1 out of 43? Is that really fair? Only once we have had people of color presidents and women that make up 43 consecutive presidential elections and when we have equal representation in the highest offices such as CEOs, Board Presidents, and Government officials could we truly say it is fair now and there is no more need for affirmative action.

Anyway, I will not let the haters taint this victory. This is a victory not just for the US but the entire world. Today we are a new America. No amount of sore loser, cry baby whining can take away the importance of this Obama victory. I was proud to be an American yesterday!